Tenants
Information about renting and tenancy for tenants
LATEST UPDATE: Read more about the coming changes to the residential tenancy laws from 1 July 2013.
Dealing with the concerns of tenants and property owners is one of the major areas of Consumer Protection's work.
If you are renting a residential property in Western Australia or thinking of doing so soon, the information here will help you avoid many potential problems.
You should read this information in conjunction with our publication Renting a home in Western Australia - a tenant's guide [PDF 903KB]. At the time you read the guide, you may wish to check with us whether any changes have been introduced since the last printed version.
- Getting started
- Maintenance and repairs
- Access, privacy, locks and security
- Bonds and rent
- Ending a tenancy
- Housing choices for over 55's
- Smoke alarms
- Discrimination in the rental market
- Are you ready for the digital tv switchover?
Recent amendments to the act came into effect on 30 July 2012. If you rent a home through the Department of Housing, these changes affect your rights and responsibilities as a tenant. Please read the Department of Housing Tenants fact sheet for important information relating to these changes.
Other changes to the Act will also take effect in 2013, including those related to property condition reports, inspection and option fees. Check back here regularly for updates, as a community and industry education campaign will take place before these amendments come into operation.
Prospective tenants should also be aware of a growing number of reports in relation to rental scams, where properties that may not even be available are advertised on classifieds websites by scammers who don’t own or manage the property in question. Visit WA ScamNet for more information.
Need more information or having some problems with the property owner that you can't resolve?
Contact our Call Centre on 1300 30 40 54
(National Relay Service: 13 36 77 for the hearing impaired) or email us.
If you need to lodge a formal complaint with us, you can use this number or email address to obtain a complaint form, or you can access an on-line version here for you to print off and complete.
Legislation
The relevant laws in WA are the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989. You can buy copies of the act and regulations from:
The State Law Publisher,
10 William Street, Perth
(08) 6552 6000.